Long before Liverpool reached last season’s Champions League final, preparations for a possible showdown in Madrid were being made by Pepijn “Pep” Lijnders. The semi-final against Barcelona had not been played but Jürgen Klopp’s assistant was already contemplating the ideal preparation. He thought about inviting a team who could mimic Ajax’s or Tottenham’s style, to give Liverpool an idea of what they could expect if they overcame Barça.

The location was decided. Marbella’s weather was similar to Madrid’s and it would be relatively easy to fly a team there secretly. “I really wanted to organise a game because otherwise it would have been three weeks without any competitive action,” Lijnders says. “I wanted us to play a similar team to the opponents we could face in Madrid. The idea was to privately invite a team to train three to four days in the way we wanted them toplay us in the friendly.”

Lijnders’ efforts proved well worth it after Liverpool overcame a 3-0 deficit to reach the final. “Benfica B came over and everything remained secret,” Lijnders says. “We gave a presentation to their manager about how they had to play. It had to be like Tottenham, with their set pieces, footballing intentions and defensive organisation. We played that game behind closed doors. We even built higher shields so no one could see anything. The match took place exactly one week before the final and we prepared everything like we would do during the day of the final.”

Liverpool, who defeated Benfica B 3-0, secured the Champions League by beating Spurs 2-0. When watching the buildup to the early goals in both those games there is a recognisable pattern, with Liverpool winning possession on the halfway line and playing a long ball to Sadio Mané. “In both moments you could clearly see how we positioned ourselves to be able to dominate the second-ball game and directly searched for Sadio into the free space behind the last line.”

Liverpool played Benfica's B team in Marbella before the Champions League final for specific tactical preparation.

Lijnders is speaking at the Melwood training ground. Dressed in a club jumper featuring six stars symbolising the European Cup victories he explains how the technical staff work on a daily basis. “Jürgen [Klopp] is the leader and face of the team, the one who defines the character and who stimulates everyone. Pete [Peter Krawietz] is responsible for the analysis and prepares everything in regards to videos which are shown to the players. I’m responsible for the training process.

“Together we decide what kind of aspects we want to develop for the team and then I create the exercises. It’s quite simple; it’s just about the continuing stimulation of our mentality to conquer the ball as quick and as high up the pitch as possible. That element comes back in every exercise. We as staff always try to find ways so the players can be more spontaneous and more creative.”

The high counterpressing has become the identity of the modern Liverpool. Lijnders works to refine its model and creates exercises which help players master the system. For example, in training a rule can be that a goal counts only when all the players have crossed the halfway line. “Purely to stimulate the team to push up quickly and be ready to counterpress; counterpressing is only possible when you are together at all times. People say Liverpool are good at this or at that but I always say the main thing we are good at is that we are always together.”

Lijnders explains there are a lot of formats. “Let’s take the five-v-two rondo, which in fact is a pressing rondo. Our game is about movement and speed, and with only five players those five have to run non-stop. The two guys in the middle are encouraged to make an interception within the first six passes. If they succeed, they can go out both at the same time, otherwise only the player who intervened is allowed to leave the middle. This all stimulates our counterpressing vision where we try to disrupt the buildup of the opponent inside their first few touches.”

Pep Lijnders (second left) celebrates the European Cup win over Spurs with Jurgen Klopp and other members of the Liverpool coaching staff. Photograph: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Lijnders explains how they often continue a session with other rondo-esque exercises, such as two teams of three competing against one team of three, until the latter wins the ball and replaces the team who lost the ball. That exercise is about instant transition and not dwelling on disappointment after losing possession.

Lijnders argues those drills help shape Liverpool’s identity. “The players first have to understand the importance of counterpressing to our team. They have to feel it, not with the head, but with the heart. They start the exercise with the idea to keep the ball, but in the event of losing it they have to be directly on top of things.

“When a team lose the ball in training, you will hear me, Jürgen or Pete screaming: ‘Go! Get it back! Don’t stop!’ It’s so loud they’ll even hear that in Manchester, haha. They have to understand why it’s so important. That power and emotion is our game. Because our identity is intensity. That comes back in every drill. And that’s what I like about coaching: that you can stimulate certain common behaviour and create a lot by specific team training. That’s what I live for.”

Lijnders is only 36 but has been coaching for years. At 17 he was forced to quit playing after sustaining a serious knee injury. He quickly moved into coaching and after starting at the amateur side SVEB in the Netherlands he moved to PSV as a youth coach. In 2007 he went to Porto to become their academy’s head of individual development and coached the youth team. After a few seasons Manchester United were keen to take him but that failed to materialise when Sir Alex Ferguson retired and Lijnders joined Liverpool in 2014, with responsibility for the Under-15s and Under-16s. A year later he was promoted to the first teamby Brendan Rodgers.

It's fantastic. We play two to three times a week, sometimes more often

Lijnders says he is often inspired by the players when creating exercises. “The five-v-two rondo is a good example. It’s actually called Milly’s rondo now, after I got inspired by James Milner, because he always intercepted the ball within the first few passes. He was really quick and brought the focus of the rondo to another level. I was like: ‘How can I come up with a rule that everyone will execute with his kind of intensity?’ So I gave an extra incentive for the two players in the middle if they would intervene within the first six passes. So I told Milly: ‘This is your idea!’ The other players loved it.”

Lijnders strongly believes in the power of role models and says the manager and captains reflect the identity of the club. “The heart of the team is the heart of the coach. So the character of the coach will become the character of the team in the long term. That’s it. Because there is no stronger weapon than your own example. If I’m a disciplined coach, then I don’t need to discipline the players. Our captains Hendo [Jordan Henderson] and Milly, together with Virgil [van Dijk], are so disciplined, which means the rest of the group doesn’t need to be disciplined. There is a saying from [Theodore] Roosevelt which says: ‘People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.’

“Jürgen does really care about the squad and his staff. Players will understand and absorb more of our philosophy when they feel how much we care about them.”

The philosophy is about playing football in its most attacking shape. “We always focus on ourselves, attack the opponent with – but especially without – the ball; a chasing attitude over 95 minutes.

Lijnders has developed training drills to help players match the intensity of James Milner. Photograph: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

“So our way of playing is central element in our training sessions. But I also look to details of opponents which can give us an advantage, like spaces they might leave open or other weaknesses which we can exploit. I always try to interweave those elements in our sessions without the players noticing it.” He believes, though, that “75 % of the opponents we’ve played against so far in the Premier League changed something in their formation beforehand”.

In his first season at Liverpool Lijnders was occasionally invited to Melwood by Rodgers to talk about counterpressing and Lijnders’ interpretation of 3-4-3. Lijnders impressed Rodgers with his tactical insights and accepted an offer to join the first-team staff but stayed connected to the academy, where he had created a group in which the best players from different age groups were brought together. One player to emerge from this pool was Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Rodgers left shortly after promoting Lijnders but Klopp kept the Dutchman as first-team coach. They appeared to complement each other, so the manager was sad to see Lijnders leave in January 2018 for a managerial role at NEC in the Netherlands. So upset, in fact, that he swiftly offered Lijnders the chance to return as his assistant.

“He was convinced we could conquer a lot together,” says Lijnders, who accepted Klopp’s offer and left NEC after half a season at the end of which the team lost in the promotion play-offs.“Jürgen can touch someone straight to the heart. He knows exactly what he wants and when we were on the phone it felt just right.”

Lijnders returned to the club in the summer of 2018 after a brief spell at NEC in the Netherlands. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Since then Liverpool have become even better, with an increased tactical flexibility and intensity. Lijnders picks out another Klopp strength: “He is able to give a completely different perception to a situation inside a few minutes.” Lijnders gives an example of the game at Barcelona last season. “We lost 3-0, but afterwards Jürgen said in the dressing room: ‘The only team in the world who can overturn this defeat against Barcelona is us.’ It gave the squad a boost, also because of the way we had played that night. When the players walked towards the coach there was already a different feeling.”

Lijnders’ bond with Klopp goes beyond a professional relationship. Occasionally they meet at their homes but most of the time they are at Melwood, where they spend even their down-time together.

A glass cage adjacent to the Melwood building was specially built for Klopp and Lijnders to house a paddle tennis court. “It’s a combination of tennis and squash and because of the glass walls the ball can bounce, which keeps it in play,” Lijnders says. “The court is actually meant for two v two, so it’s not only a battle against each other, but also yourself.”

The initial idea was to build a court beside one of their houses, at a time when they lived close to each other, but a court at the club made more sense. “It’s fantastic. Perhaps we play two to three times a week, sometimes more often.”

On the day of this interview they have a paddle tennis match scheduled just after a joint meeting and a few hours before they lead training. “A perfect way to switch off,” Lijnders says. “You can’t play without 100% concentration. For us it’s great to just think about nothing during those games. And sometimes it is in these moments that we find a brilliant solution for something.”

In everything Lijnders does preparation is key. He has learned the smallest details can make the biggest difference. On the day of the return leg against Barcelona he sent a message via club staff instructing the ball boys to throw back balls as quickly as possible. “They can make a difference tonight, we need everyone on the top of their toes,” Lijnders wrote in his message.

The decisive fourth goal came after Alexander-Arnold received the ball very quickly from a ball boy to take a corner which Divock Origi slotted home. So the final became a reality and enabled Lijnders to continue working on his preparations for Madrid. And there, after 21 seconds, he realised that those early investments had paid off. The puzzle was complete.